1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the cooling and dispensing of alcoholic and/or non-alcoholic beverages, and particularly to a closed system for cooling and remote dispensing that employs thermal heat exchangers in the cooler to rapidly ramp-up (flash chilling) the temperature of the beverage using the temperature of the coolant on the return line or the supply line.
2. General Background
Many commercial establishments serve draft beer at a bar area which is located some distance from the storage container, usually housed in a walk-in cooler or the like wherein the beer is kept at a refrigerated temperature with the surrounding cool air. Many restaurants, for example, will maintain multiple kegs of beer in a walk-in cooler. These walk-in coolers typically have their own heat exchanger which hopefully keeps the interior airspace of the cooler, for example, at 35° F.-40° F. so that anything contained within this walk-in cooler assumes the temperature of the surrounding air-cooled environment. A problem occurs wherein the walk-in cooler is used extensively, such as during peak operating hours. When this extensive use occurs, the door to the walk-in cooler is opened and closed repeatedly, causing the temperature of air within the cooler to rise which results in a rise of the temperature of goods (e.g., beer kegs) contained within the cooler. Thus, for example, if the cooler is subjected to extensive opening, the temperature of the beer inside the kegs which are housed in the cooler can rise to a beginning temperature of 50° F.-60° F. or higher. This beginning temperature for the beer at the keg (the temperature of the cooler) will result in warmer product at the spigot of a remote dispensing tower where the beer is dispensed to the user. More specifically, a warmer carbonated beverage, such as beer, when poured at the spigot is foam, such foam is discarded generating lost profits for the owners.
Furthermore, a temperature of 32° F. (or less) cannot be achieved at the spigot using cooling via glycol flowlines when distances are relatively short, such as less the 75 ft., even if the cooler is maintained at 40° F. More specifically, cooling using glycol flowlines requires a minimum cooling distance of approximately 75 feet to provide the necessary heat exchange between the glycol and the beverage lines when the cooler has an ambient temperature of 40° F. However, as the cooler temperature rises or as high volumes of products are dispensed, the beverage temperature at the spigot is affected such that foam is dispensed.
A system for cooling beer for remote dispensing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,082, by the same inventor, and is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full below. My prior system is an open system such that one stage of heat exchange takes place in an open bath of glycol (coolant). I have determined that in the open bath, the glycol is subject to dilution, as it absorbs water from humidity in the air. Thus, the open system required routine maintenance to replace the glycol. The open bath heat exchanger used coils. However, the main chiller, using a double pass copper evaporator coil, was limited in capacity to approximately 10 coils of product. Thus, for restaurants or bars with a larger beverage selection, multiple main chillers were needed which required extra real estate in the restaurant or bar, as well as, in the transportation vehicle shipping the system for initial installation.
Other known systems use a method of heat exchanging that also submerges the heat exchanger in a bath of coolant. Moreover, other systems employ a non-food grade coolant which presents environmental issues and is typically corrosive.
In view of the above, there is a continuing need for an improved system for cooling and remote dispensing beverages, such as, without limitation, domestic beer, European beer, stouts, Ale, Vodka, Margarita Mixes, that is to be dispensed from a container housed in a preliminary air-cooled environment, such as a walk-in cooler, or outside of a cooler.
Another continuing need is for a closed system for cooling and remote dispensing beverages that readily adapts to fluctuations in a cooler so that a beverage temperature at the spigot can be guaranteed without regard to fluctuation in the cooler's temperature. Thus, there is little to no waste produced.
There is a still further continuing need for a closed system for cooling and remote dispensing beverages at a guaranteed beverage temperature while eliminating the minimum cooling distance or dedicated cooler to store the beverages.
There is a still further continuing need for a closed system for cooling and remote dispensing beverages that employs a closed and sealed loop of circulating coolant for performing two stages of heat exchange.
There is a still further continuing need for a closed system for cooling and remote dispensing beverages that does not submerge individual heat exchangers in the coolant but instead, vertically mounts the heat exchangers to a wall in the cooler in close proximity to the beverage container.
As will be seen more fully below, the present invention is substantially different in structure, methodology and approach from that of other systems for cooling and remote dispensing of beverages.